Arthritis can affect any joint in the body. It can be mild and cause minimal discomfort or severe enough to alter a person's way of living. One of the most common joints that arthritis affects is the hip. Treatment options for hip arthritis depend upon the extent and severity of the degeneration.
Over-the-Counter Medications
In very mild cases of arthritis of the hip, the treatment aims to control mild symptoms, such as aching or soreness. In the early stages of hip arthritis, people often complain of a sore hip after physical exertion or prolonged walking or standing. Over-the-counter medications, such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen, often control mild inflammation and pain.
Narcotic Pain Killers
As hip osteoarthritis progresses, symptoms worsen. What began as mild aching or soreness can become outright pain. This pain often develops from activities such as walking, stair climbing, stooping, squatting and prolonged standing. A doctor or other health care provider might prescribe stronger, narcotic pain medications, which contain controlled substances, such as codeine, oxycodone and hydrocodone. Still, narcotic medications do not combat the causes of the pain. They simply dull the brain's capacity to interpret pain impulses sent to it from the inflamed areas of the body.
Oral and Injectable Steroids
For stronger pain control, it may become necessary to inject the affected joint with cortisone or to prescribe systemic oral steroids. The type of steroid used for injection resembles natural steroids that the body produces, but it is administered in a more concentrated form, directly into the joint for optimal local effect. Systemic oral steroids are also similar in makeup to natural ones, but because the drug is in the bloodstream, the patient will experience wider effects. Prolonged use of steroids is risky, because they suppress the body's immuno-defense system and soften bones.
Aquatic Therapy
Aquatic therapy is therapeutic exercise performed in water. Exercising in water has many benefits. The buoyancy of the body in water significantly reduces the negative effects of gravity, so hip joints can exercise more freely. The pressure of warm water in a therapeutic pool relaxes muscles, allows easier joint motion and reduces swelling and pain.
Hip Joint Replacement
In cases of end-stage osteoarthritis, hip joint replacement may be warranted when all other treatment options have failed to bring relief. The surgery consists of removing the degenerated ball of the hip, called the femoral head, and scraping out the degenerated cartilage from the socket of the pelvis, called the acetabulum. These areas are then fitted with a combination of metal and plastic implants that fit into and onto the socket and thigh bone. Replacing the arthritic components improves mobility and may eliminate pain.
Hip Resurfacing
One alternative to total hip replacement is a procedure known as hip resurfacing. The preparation of the host bone surfaces is different than with total hip replacement. The acetabulum, or socket, of the pelvis is reamed out and cleared of any remaining joint cartilage surface and is reshaped into a more spherical socket, ready to accept its metallic replacement. The femoral head, or ball of the hip, is not surgically removed but shaved down to resemble a large peg, somewhat similar to a dental crown procedure. A metallic cap is then cemented onto the remaining bone to complete the other half of the prosthesis. Many doctors say the benefit of this procedure is that the canal of the thigh bone is not violated, thus saving it until years later if a total hip replacement eventually becomes necessary
